Chapter 77

Since the preliminary agreement with the Spanish was reached on July 28, both sides have fallen into a strange silence, with the East Coast people controlling the land and the Spanish dominating the sea. The main Spanish fleet still patrols the outer sea from Rocha to the Big Fish River, with six warships divided into two groups, each led by the "Cadiz Rock" and the "Countess Alfonso" respectively. The two groups take turns patrolling, with one group docking in Buenos Aires for rest and the other faithfully performing patrol and blockade duties. After all, a formal peace treaty has yet to be signed.

Post-war reconstruction is proceeding in an orderly manner. More than 700 Spanish prisoners of war are roused by the whips of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' police before dawn each day, then work in the wind and snow at various construction sites until nightfall. After more than a week, several weak Spanish prisoners have died from exhaustion on the construction sites. Of course, the results of this approach are also significant. By July 28, these Spanish prisoners of war had cumulatively repaired over 800 houses, dug 10 wells, built 1,000 meters of water channels, and excavated three reservoirs.

...

Buenos Aires' winter is warm, even in this cold era, it mostly maintains a temperature above zero degrees.

Salvador Angel Bravo pulled open the curtains, and large patches of water mist had condensed on the inner side of the luxuriously decorated glass window. The room was warm like spring, with the burning charcoal in the fireplace providing ample heat. Salvador, in his pajamas, walked barefoot on the soft Turkish carpet to the wine cabinet and poured himself a glass of wine. This wine, made from the vineyards of Asunción, though slightly inferior in taste to local and French wines, has a unique flavor that adds a bright touch to Salvador's evening.

Baron Salvador Bravo rang the bell by the wall, and soon his personal servant and private secretary entered.

"Gilberto, how are those guys doing?" Baron Bravo sipped the red liquid in his cup and asked slowly.

"They are very wealthy," Gilberto smiled. "Whether from Santa Fe or the locals, the merchants are all rolling in money, especially Manuel Ignacio Rodriguez, who runs a ranch. He once presented us with thirty horses."

Baron Bravo chuckled, playing with the glass in his hand. "This is truly a bizarre and absurd war. From Buenos Aires, Santa Fe to Asunción, Charcas, almost all the native-born people are hoping for the kingdom's defeat to satisfy their increasingly膨胀的贪婪欲望。真是令人惊讶啊，哈哈，现在他们的愿望得到了满足。王国战败，损失了近两千军人和数艘战舰，就连正直的费尔南德斯子爵也蒙主感召，这一切反而成就了这些人的钱袋子。”

“正是费尔南德斯子爵的离去，才给您腾出了总司令官的位置。不管怎么说，鞑靼人赢得了战争。暮气沉沉的殖民地军团完全不是他们的对手，他们有权利要求分享属于自己的那一份蛋糕。”吉尔伯托接话道，“科洛尼亚这座与鞑靼人的贸易城镇建立起来后，每年能带来的利益不会少于20万比索。男爵阁下，请相信我，鞑靼人不会老实到每年只运输500吨物资前来交易的。而且他们本身对拉普拉塔的物产也有极大的需求，这里面的利润是惊人的！”

萨尔瓦多微笑着将杯中残余的葡萄酒倒入口中，闭上眼睛仔细品味着。“好吧，那么就签署了这份和约吧。急匆匆从利马赶来处理烂摊子，没想到还能碰上这么一桩好事。至于费尔南德斯子爵去世后留下的伤心欲绝的瓦莱丽夫人，回到利马后，我会‘好好’补偿她的。”

吉尔伯托会意地笑了起来。随即又好像想起了什么，忙说道：“罗梅罗总视察官阁下在离开利马前曾经提起过一位在拉普拉塔地区服役的年轻陆军上尉——胡安·克鲁斯·托雷斯，他是托雷斯伯爵的小儿子，伯爵大人在西印度院事务中有着不可低估的影响力……”

萨尔瓦多努力回忆了半天，这才想起来托雷斯是谁。

“那个可怜的小伙子啊。”萨尔瓦多叹了口气，说道：“他看起来完全被摧垮了。肩背弯曲、暮气沉沉、反应迟钝，他一定是中了鞑靼人的巫术，真是个可怜的孩子。两年多前他还是巴拉多利德和马德里沙龙中贵妇们的宠儿呢，如今他却成了被命运捉弄的可怜人。幸好他还有个深爱他的父亲，好吧，托雷斯上尉在与鞑靼人的战斗中忠于职守，顽强战斗至最后一刻，也许少校军衔对他来说是一个合适的褒奖。当然了，这场失败的战争总要有人付出代价，安东尼奥·卡洛斯少校的过于谨慎和犹豫不决在利马也是出了名的，拉普拉塔督办这么一个重要职位并不适合他来干。哦，还有，我差点忘了。我的副手、特遣舰队舰队司令官，那个下贱的牧猪人的后代，他全程指挥了整场战役，但事实证明了他的愚蠢和无知，他应该承担起自己的责任。我说得对吗，吉尔伯托？”

“您是新任总督全权特使、特遣舰队总司令官，现在您的意志就是拉普拉塔的意志。”吉尔伯托恭维道。

萨尔瓦多在吉尔伯托的帮助下穿上了衣服，然后随口问道：“鞑靼人的条件是什么？我是指除了通商之外的，该死，那个牧猪人后代甚至还没有将文件正本给我看过哪怕一次！”

“鞑靼人提了很多领土要求。”吉尔伯托帮布拉沃男爵拿来了礼帽，说道：“不过都是些荒无人烟的蛮荒之地，或许会有一些耶稣会的传教士在那里设置了传教区，但终究不是很多。王国和巴西人暂时对那里都没有兴趣。”

“又是耶稣会！该死的！”布拉沃男爵戴上了礼帽，略有些生气地说道：“这帮家伙总是在智利地区和我捣乱。我的牧场是如此地缺少人手，这帮耶稣会的传教士竟然还认为那些卑贱的阿劳坎人是王国自由民、主的羊群，不允许我忠实的仆人去捕捉他们。荒谬！荒谬至极！文明人才是这个世界的主角，这些卑贱的阿劳坎野蛮人只配给我们做奴隶。好了，不说这些扫兴的事情了，将那些土地都一股脑儿丢给鞑靼人！让他们去教训教训那帮耶稣会的传教士！吉尔伯托，和我一起共进早餐吧，拉普拉塔的深海鳕鱼相当有名。要知道，在夏天和秋天可吃不到这么新鲜的鳕鱼，也只有在这个时候我们才可以一尝美食。”

“非常荣幸，男爵阁下。”吉尔伯托鞠躬道。

...

8月10日。在等待了十多天后，由陆路从利马经查尔卡斯、亚松森、圣菲而至布宜诺斯艾利斯的西班牙新任特遣舰队总司令官、秘鲁总督全权特使萨尔瓦多·安赫尔·布拉沃男爵乘坐“阿方索伯爵夫人”号战舰抵达了罗洽港。

这位秘鲁总督的特使是7月中旬的时候从利马出发的，当时乘坐“托莱多狂信者”号战舰的费尔南德斯子爵失踪的消息刚刚传到利马。有些不安的古铁雷斯总督决定派遣自己信任的萨尔瓦多前往拉普拉塔，接替倒霉的费尔南德斯子爵的位置。萨尔瓦多·布拉沃男爵从利马出发，和随从们带着大量战马，一路紧赶，这才在8月初赶到了布宜诺斯艾利斯城。

接下来的故事大家都很清楚了，风尘仆仆赶来的布拉沃男爵突然发现自己无事可做了，除了签署一份与鞑靼人的和平条约外。

当然，他忠实的仆人吉尔伯托很快就为他找到了新的事来做。本地的商人们私下里联合请求总督全权特使布拉沃男爵尽快签署与鞑靼人的和平条约，结束目前双方的战争状态，并尽快开通双方之间的贸易。为此，本地商人、地主的领袖人物、布宜诺斯艾利斯市政议员曼努埃尔·伊格纳西奥·罗德里格斯的儿子阿尔瓦罗代表本地商人们进献了不菲的礼物，并承诺在将来开通的贸易城镇科洛尼亚所产生的贸易收入中分给男爵大人一份。

男爵大人理所当然地被糖衣炮弹打垮，他欣然同意了商人们的意见。因此，就在8月10日这一天，他乘坐战舰抵达了罗洽港。与此同时，应约而来的华夏东岸共和国外交部长、首席谈判代表高摩在两个排骑兵的护卫下，也抵达了罗洽港。

中午十二点整。高摩乘坐交通艇登上了“阿方索伯爵夫人”号战舰，然后在战舰装饰奢华的艉楼船长室内，与秘鲁总督全权特使萨尔瓦多·安赫尔·布拉沃男爵签署了和平条约，条约内容一如之前所达成的协议。

这份被称做《罗洽和约》的和平条约一式两份，没有见证人，分别由双方保管。至此，西班牙王国与华夏东岸共和国在经历了艰难的5个月零21天后，终于结束了战争状态。

和约签署后第二天早上，西班牙人的战舰全部撤离了大鱼河至罗洽一线，返回了布宜诺斯艾利斯。中午，骑兵营第一排的士兵们进入了罗洽港的简易码头，并在码头上升起了美洲鹫陆军旗，正式宣示了主权。

①西班牙舰队一般有舰队总司令官和舰队司令官。总司令官统帅整个舰队及船上搭载的陆军士兵，是总指挥官。舰队司令官一般来说只是所有战舰的指挥官，是总司令官的副手。

翻页上AD开始

翻页上AD结束

---

Since the preliminary agreement with the Spanish was reached on July 28, both sides have fallen into a strange silence, with the East Coast people controlling the land and the Spanish dominating the sea. The main Spanish fleet still patrols the outer sea from Rocha to the Big Fish River, with six warships divided into two groups, each led by the "Cadiz Rock" and the "Countess Alfonso" respectively. The two groups take turns patrolling, with one group docking in Buenos Aires for rest and the other faithfully performing patrol and blockade duties. After all, a formal peace treaty has yet to be signed.

Post-war reconstruction is proceeding in an orderly manner. More than 700 Spanish prisoners of war are roused by the whips of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' police before dawn each day, then work in the wind and snow at various construction sites until nightfall. After more than a week, several weak Spanish prisoners have died from exhaustion on the construction sites. Of course, the results of this approach are also significant. By July 28, these Spanish prisoners of war had cumulatively repaired over 800 houses, dug 10 wells, built 1,000 meters of water channels, and excavated three reservoirs.

...

Buenos Aires' winter is warm, even in this cold era, it mostly maintains a temperature above zero degrees.

Salvador Angel Bravo pulled open the curtains, and large patches of water mist had condensed on the inner side of the luxuriously decorated glass window. The room was warm like spring, with the burning charcoal in the fireplace providing ample heat. Salvador, in his pajamas, walked barefoot on the soft Turkish carpet to the wine cabinet and poured himself a glass of wine. This wine, made from the vineyards of Asunción, though slightly inferior in taste to local and French wines, has a unique flavor that adds a bright touch to Salvador's evening.

Baron Salvador Bravo rang the bell by the wall, and soon his personal servant and private secretary entered.

"Gilberto, how are those guys doing?" Baron Bravo sipped the red liquid in his cup and asked slowly.

"They are very wealthy," Gilberto smiled. "Whether from Santa Fe or the locals, the merchants are all rolling in money, especially Manuel Ignacio Rodriguez, who runs a ranch. He once presented us with thirty horses."

Baron Bravo chuckled, playing with the glass in his hand. "This is truly a bizarre and absurd war. From Buenos Aires, Santa Fe to Asunción, Charcas, almost all the native-born people are hoping for the kingdom's defeat to satisfy their increasingly greedy desires. It's truly astonishing, ha ha, now their wishes have been fulfilled. The kingdom has been defeated, losing nearly two thousand soldiers and several warships, and even the upright Viscount Fernandez has been called to the Lord, yet all this has instead enriched these people's pockets."

"It is precisely the departure of Viscount Fernandez that has opened up the position of Commander-in-Chief for you. No matter what, the Tartars won the war. The lethargic colonial army was no match for them, and they have the right to demand their share of the pie." Gilberto continued, "The establishment of the trading town of Colonia with the Tartars will bring in no less than 200,000 pesos annually. My lord, believe me, the Tartars will not be so honest as to only transport 500 tons of goods for trade each year. Moreover, they have a great demand for the products of the La Plata region, and the profits are enormous!"

Salvador smiled and drank the remaining wine in his glass, savoring it with closed eyes. "Well, then let's sign this peace treaty. Rushing from Lima to deal with this mess, I didn't expect to encounter such a good deal. As for the heartbroken Lady Valerie after Viscount Fernandez's death, I will 'properly' compensate her when I return to Lima."

Gilberto smiled in understanding. Then, as if he remembered something, he quickly added, "Inspector General Romero mentioned a young army captain serving in the La Plata region before leaving Lima—Juan Cruz Torres. He is the youngest son of Count Torres, who has considerable influence in the Council of the Indies..."

Salvador struggled to recall for a moment before remembering who Torres was.

"Poor young man," Salvador sighed. "He looks completely broken. Bent shoulders, lethargic, and slow to react. He must